Slides Week 3 Flashcards
1
Q
Cognitive Developments
A
- Dramatic shifts in thinking, knowing, and remembering occur over the first ten years of life.
- These shifts in contribute to psychosocial developments in adolescence and adulthood
- e.g., the formation of identity
- Cognitive developmentalists attempt to explain the mechanisms underlying these shifts.
2
Q
4 Approaches to Cognitive Development
A
- Neurobiological
- Developmental (Piaget 1952)
- Psychometric Intelligence Tests
- Information Processing
3
Q
Neurobiological Approaches
A
Growth of the brain and its effect on development
4
Q
Cells in the Nervous System
A
- The nervous system is living tissue composed of cells
- The firing of billions of nerve cells provides the physiological basis for psychological processes
- Two major categories of cells in the nervous system
- Glia
- Neurons
5
Q
Glia
A
- A supportive cell in the central nervous system.
- Glial cells do not conduct electrical impulses like neurons
- Glial cells surround neurons and provide support for and insulation between them.
- Most abundant cell types in the central nervous system.
6
Q
Neurons
A
- Specialized cells that transmit chemical and electrical signals in the brain
- Basic building blocks of the central nervous system.
- As we develop (over time):
- No of dendrites increases
- More connections
- Myelin sheath increases
- Length of axon increases
- No of dendrites increases
7
Q
Cerebrum: Four Lobes
A
- Frontal
- Parietal
- Occipital
- Temporal
8
Q
Brain Develops at Different Stages
A
- Frontal lobe
- Executive functions: planning, inhibitory control, intention, personality
- Develops later (compared to other stages) = Poor decision making earlier (esp in adolescence!)
- Parietal lobe
- Spatial information, attention, motor control
- Occipital lobe
- -Vision
- Temporal lobe
- Memory (short term/long term), hearing, language processes
- Cerebellum
- Receives information, balance, coordination, speech (muscle control)
- Brain stem
- Important life functions (breathing, swallowing, heart rate, blood pressure), flow of information between brain and body
9
Q
Two techniques to study Neural Changes
A
- Positron Emission Tomography (PET).
- Functional Magnetic resonance Imagery (fMRI).
10
Q
Positron Emission Tomography (PET).
A
- Radioactive traces introduced to bloodstream
- Produces 3-D image of functional processes in the body.
- Identify which parts of brain activated during activities across differing subjects
11
Q
Kalat (2016) - Positron Emission Tomography
A
Positron-emission tomography (PET) provides a high-resolution image of activity in a living brain by recording the emission of radioactivity from injected chemicals. First, the person receives an injection of glucose or some other chemical containing radioactive atoms. Glucose use increases in the most active brain areas, so tracking the levels of glucose tells us something about brain activity. When a radioactive atom decays, it releases a positron that immediately collides with a nearby electron, emitting two gamma rays in exactly opposite directions. The person’s head is surrounded by a set of gamma ray detectors (see Figure 3.32). When two detectors record gamma rays at the same time, they identify a spot halfway between those detectors as the point of origin of the gamma rays. A computer uses this information to determine how many gamma rays came from each spot in the brain and therefore how much of the radioactive chemical is located in each area (Phelps & Mazziotta, 1985). The areas with the most radioactivity are presumably the ones with the most active neurons.”
12
Q
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
A
- fMRI detects neural activity in brain by detecting associated changes in blood flow related to changes in energy used by brain cells.
- “Hemoglobin with oxygen reacts to a magnetic field differently from hemoglobin without oxygen. Researchers set the fMRI scanner to detect the amount of hemoglobin with oxygen (Viswanathan & Freeman, 2007). When a brain area becomes more active, two relevant changes occur: First, blood vessels dilate to al- low more blood flow to the area. Second, as the brain area uses oxygen, the percentage of hemoglobin with oxygen de- creases. An fMRI scan responds to both of these processes (Sirotin, Hillman, Bordier, & Das, 2009).
13
Q
Neural Development over the Lifespan
A
- Advances in technology have shown:
- Particular neural changes associated with each stage of the lifespan.
- These changes are potentially related to the cognitive abilities that develop in each stage.
- Infancy:
- Brain growth.
- Childhood:
- Lateralisation.
- Plasticity.
- Adolescence:
- Cortical changes.
- Adulthood:
- Gain-loss dialectic.
14
Q
Neural Development in Infancy
A
- Rapic Growth of the Brain
- Neurocognitive Growth
- Not just brain size but neuron density
15
Q
Brain Weight
A
- Birth - 25% adult weight
- 2 Years - 80% adult weight
- This rapid neurocognitive growth spurt during infancy is differentially distributed across different areas, structures, and functioning of the brain.
- FOUR factors important in increase in brain weight in infancy:
- Neurons
- Dendrites.
- Synapses.
- Myelination
16
Q
Brain at Birth
A
- Subcortical structures are most mature.
- Cerebral cortex most immature, particularly frontal areas.
- Mechanisms of voluntary self-control and deliberate self-regulation of reflex responses are rare in children < 4 years old.
- Infants have their full quota of brain cells, but the neural connections between these cells are not developed
- As the infant matures, connections become more complex and more efficient.
17
Q
Dendrites + Synapses + Cortex
A
- Specifically, rapid growth in dendrites and synaptic connections among brain cells combines with cortical maturation
- Resultant behaviours:
- Capacity to control neck muscles
- Motor co-ordination for sitting upright.
- Gains in socialisation.
18
Q
Cortex Take Over
A
- Cortex takes over voluntary control from lower brain centre
- Changes occur in reflexes, attention and sleep patterns
19
Q
Positive Babinski Effect
A
- Is normal in infants until around 12 - 24 months
- In adults indicates possible damage to the cortico-spinal tract
20
Q
Dendrites
A
- Addition of dendrites and axon terminals to form interconnections with each other.
-
Transient exuberance:
- Initial dramatic burst of growth of dendrites.
- Allows brain to organise itself in response to stimulation from outside world.
21
Q
Transient Exuberance
A
- Dendrite growth
- Large but temporary increase in the number of dendrites that develop in infant’s brain
- Occurs during the first two years of life. …
- Enables neurons to connect and communicate by greatly expanding number of other neurons within the brain.
22
Q
Synapses
A
- Growth of Synapses followed by pruning to simplify brain’s wiring
- Streamlines brain activity with maximum efficiency
23
Q
Myelination
A
- Process of myelination:
- Speeds transmission of neural impulses.
- Rapid information processing.
- Brain gains control over motor functioning.
- Myelination of neuron channels, pathways and modular interconnections (up until 10 years).
- Process of myelination governed by glial cells (which continue to grow throughout life, unlike neurons).
24
Q
Two Significant developments of the Cerebral Cortex
A
- Limbic System (Medial temporal lobe)
- Frontal lobe.
25
Q
Limbic System
A
- In the medial temporal lobe
- Loosely connected network that contributes to emotion, memory, and motivation
- Includes:
- Amygdala
- Hippocampus
- 6 months – 12 months:
- Remember and imitate actions.
- Recognize picture of object held in hands.
*
26
Q
Frontal Lobe
A
- Develops in Later Childhood
- Higher Cognitive functions like reasonig
27
Q
Laterilisation
A
- Functional dominance of one hemisphere over the other
- One hemisphere is more responsible or entirely responsible for control of a function in comparison to the other.
28
Q
Brain Growth in Childhood
A
- Continues during childhood
- Primary neural developments associated with this stage are:
- Increase in brain size and volume.
- Myelination.
- Lateralisation.
29
Q
Plasticity
A
- Brain’s potential for growth and flexibility to change in response to experience.
- Increase in brain size and volume, Myelination and Lateralisation contribute to brain’s plasticity
30
Q
Childhood Increase in Brain Size
A
- 90% of adult volume by age 5.
- Giedd (2003) - MRI of brains of 1500 healthy children.
- Growth in brain’s grey matter à arborisation.
- Only most efficient and functional brain connections remain in human brain.
- Enhances plasticity in response to early experience.
31
Q
Myelinatation
A
- Myelination follows sequence in childhood:
- Sensory pathways at birth.
- Hippocampus at 6 years (accounts for improved memorisation ability in preschool).
- Reticular formation (brainstem; alertness and arousal) + frontal cortex process completes in adolescence.
32
Q
Laterlisation in Childhood
A
- In childhood, the cerebral cortex becomes specialised for particular functions.
- Hemispheres connected by corpus callosum.
- Continued growth and myelination in childhood.
- Specialisation for handedness and language begins in preschool and ends at puberty.
- Sensitive (or critical) period for language development.
- Implications for second language learning
33
Q
Corpus Callosum
A
34
Q
Neural Development in Adolescence
A
- Emphasis on prefrontal cortex
- Cognitive abilities are significantly more developed than in childhood:
- Astract (cf. concrete à possible cf. real)
- Metacognitive
- Multidimensional (cf. unidimensional).
- Relativistic (cf. absolute).
35
Q
Adolescent Behaviour, Emotion & Cognition
A
- THREE aspects of brain maturation linked with behvioural, emotional, and cognitive development during adolescence:
- Cortical synapses.
- Neurotransmitters in limbic system.
- Synaptic pruning and myelination of the prefrontal cortex.
36
Q
Cortical Synapses
A
- Growth means more efficient and focused information processing
37
Q
Neurotransmitters
A
- Changes to neurotransmitters in limbic system:
- More emotionality.
- More responsive to stress.
- Less responsive to rewards
38
Q
Prefrontal Cortex Adolescence
A
- Synaptic pruning and myelination of the prefrontal cortex:
- More efficient at high level cognitive tasks.
39
Q
Neural Development in Adulthood
A
- Increased Cognitive Abilites
- Previously thought that brain aged even more swiftly than muscles and body in adulthood.
- Position NOT supported by recent research.
- Brain continues to gain new neural pathways and synaptic connections during adulthood as new experiences and skills are recorded in the brain.
40
Q
Mental and Physical Excersize for the Brain
A
Neurological and brain imaging studies show:
- Brain cells continue to grow and regenerate throughout adult life.
- Exercising the brain:
- Wards off decline.
- Enhances psychological functions, e.g., reaction time, planning, decision making
41
Q
London Taxi Driver’s Study
A
- Drivers had larger hippocampus than comparison group of adults.
- Hippocampus associated with memory and navigation.
- Hippocampus grew larger the longer the drivers were on the job.
42
Q
Declining Brain Weight Adulthood
A
- Gains in adult brain growth also occur within the context of ageing of brain.
- Weight of average human brain declines from 20 to 90 years.
- How this contributes to brain function is unclear.
- Yet even in old age, brain and cognitive development is a dialectical balance of gain against loss
- TWO surges of brain growth during adulthood:
- Late adolescence to early adulthood.
- 25 to 40 years
43
Q
Late Adolescence
A
- Frontal lobes of cerebral cortex:
- Gains in logical reasoning skills
44
Q
Young Adulthood Brain Development
A
- Frontal lobes of cerebral cortex + limbic system:
- Less impulsivity.
- Increased ability to consider broad plans and make wise decisions.
45
Q
Increased Brain Performance
A
- Cognitive abilities improve until age 60 years
- Increased performance on tests of vocabulary, comprehension, and general knowledge.
- Learn new information and skills.
- Superior performance on complex mental tasks
- Reasoning and verbal memory.
-
46
Q
Decline in Late Adulthood
A
- Some intellectual abilities in some individuals decline after late adulthood:
- Rapid and flexible manipulation of ideas and symbols.
- Active thinking and reasoning.
- Mental effort.
47
Q
Reasons for Decline
A
When intellectual decline with age DOES occur, it is more likely a result of:
- Specific disease processes (e.g., arteriosclerosis, or prolonged alcohol abuse).
- Drugs given to treat age related ailments.
- Terminal illness (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease).
- Isolated, unstimulating institutional way of life
48
Q
Late Adult Gains
A
- Baltes (1992):
- Gains in cognitive development in late adulthood include increased wisdom.
49
Q
Wisdom
A
- Rich, factual knowledge.
- Rich procedural knowledge (e.g., how to prioritize and weigh risks against probabilistic gains).
- The capacity to avoid dogmatism or being judgmental.
- Philosophic tolerance of uncertainty and the possibility of change.
- Ability to infer what others are thinking, improves over the later adult years.
50
Q
The Cognitive-Developmental Approach
A
Cognitive development as qualitatively different stages
51
Q
Piaget’s Approach
A
- 1952
- Cognitive development is a series of qualitatively different stages
- Stages experienced in the same order and about the same person
- Abilities in each stage builds on abilities from previous stages
- Movement through stages propted by need to make sense of experience
- Also desire to construct more advanced understanding of the world
52
Q
Dialectical Processes
A
- Argued: children have schemas
- Organised patterns of thought or behaviour
- Basis of their knowledge
Cognitive development proceeds through two dialectical processes:
- Assimilation:
- Fitting new information into an already existing schema (i.e., mental representation).
- Accommodation:
- Changing schema to incorporate new information.
- Occurs when assimilation fails.
53
Q
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
A
FOUR stages of cognitive development:
- Sensorimotor (Birth – 2 years)
- Preoperational (2 years – 7 years)
- Concrete operational (7 years – 11 years)
- Formal operational (11 years plus)
54
Q
Sensory-Motor Stage
A
- Birth to 2 years.
- Integration of sensory and motor abilities.
- Occurs through SIX stages which show infant’s progression in understanding of causality
- Key Milestone - Object permanence
- Understanding that an object continues to exist when out of immediate perception.
- Development of mental representations.
55
Q
Preoperational Stage
A
- 2 years to 7 years.
- TWO Sub-stages.
- Preoperational (2 years – 4 years).
- Intuitive thought (4 years – 7 years).
- Key milestones:
- Use of symbols to represent objects that are not present
- Deferred imitation, language.
- Developing intuitive theories about the ways in which the world works:
- Differences in children’s thought cf adult thought.
56
Q
Preoperational Stage
A
Limitations of thought:
- Animism:
- Belief that inanimate objects are alive and have consciousness.
- Egocentrism:
- Belief that all others in the world have the same perspective as the child.
57
Q
Concrete Operational Stage
A
- 7 years – 11 years.
- Concrete operational thought is made possible by child’s growing ability to use operations on concrete objects.
Key milestone:
-
Conservation:
- Ability to recognize that properties of a substance (number, length, weight, volume) remain constant despite changes in the shape of the substance.
-
Vertical decalage
- Order in which conservation abilities occur.
-
Classification:
- Ability to group sets of discrete items into a logical category
- eg: Are there more red flowers or more flowers?
-
Seriation:
- Capacity to order quantifiable objects and events on a continuum (e.g., from smallest to largest).
58
Q
Formal Operational Stage
A
- Onset of puberty
Key Milestones
- Abstract
- Logical
- Ideal
59
Q
Contributions of Piaget’s Thought
A
THREE contributions of cognitive developmental approach:
- Significant shifts in children’s thinking do occur with age
- Children now viewed as active explorers and constructors of knowledge
- Not passive recipients of input from environment
- Qualitative and quantitative differences from adult thought.
60
Q
Six Issues with Piaget’s Theory
A
- Underestimates abilities.
- Changes between stages less consistent and global than thought.
- Conversational biases in experimental testing
- Ignores importance of social context on cognitive development
- Cognitive abilities continue to develop into adulthood
61
Q
Conversational Biases
A
- Vacillation:
- Insincerity:
- Trust in the experimenter:
- Fascination with task
- Confusion over language:
62
Q
Conversational Biases - Vacillation
A
- Children who are unsure of an answer will change their minds when question wording implies they should.
63
Q
Conversational Biases - Insincerity
A
Children will give wrong answer if think experimenter wants to hear it.
64
Q
Conversational Biases - Trust in the experimenter:
A
Young children trust adults & want to please them.
65
Q
Conversational Biases - Fascination with task:
A
Children may want to prolong novel tasks.
66
Q
Conversational Biases - Confusion over language:
A
If complicated or lengthy wording, children forget or answer at random
67
Q
Social Context Issues
A
- Influence of education.
- Influence of peers:
- Vygotsky (1934):
- Zone of proximal development.
- Scaffolding.
- Cultural factors.
68
Q
Cognitive Development in Adulthood
A
- Schaie (1997):
- Adult intellectual growth can progress to stages beyond those achieved with Piagetian formal operations.
- 35 year cohort-sequential longitudinal study of over 5000 Seattle men and women.
69
Q
Findings of Schaie’s (1997) Research
A
- Early adulthood to middle age - gains in all cognitive abilities.
- 50 years to 60 years - peak mental performance in language ability, reasoning, memory, geometry, creatively fluent thinking.
- 67 years - some decline in numeric ability, but verbal ability and logical reasoning continued to show modest gains.
70
Q
Schaie’s Stages of Cognitive Development
A
- Schaie (1997) proposed a model of adult cognitive development.
- Not all adults pass through all stages.
- Good mental and physical health, lifestyle that exposes to novelty and challenge, exercise of mind by reading, studying and lively discussions is needed to progress to higher levels of cognition.
71
Q
Psychometric Approach
A
Quantifying cognitive development
72
Q
Defining Intelligence
A
- Intelligence is the ability to:
- Solve problems.
- Learn and adapt to new situations
- Intelligence is an hypothetical construct; it cannot be directly measured
- Intelligence evaluated only by examining individuals’ behaviours
73
Q
Measuring Intelligence
A
- Many different tests devised to measure intelligence.
- First intelligence tests were developed just over 100 years ago.
74
Q
Four Scientists who studied Psychometrics
A
- Francis Galton.
- Alfred Binet.
- Lewis Terman.
- David Weschler.
75
Q
Francis Galton (1822 – 1911)
A
Hereditary Genius (1869):
- Success runs in families because intelligence is hereditary.
- Attempted to assess hereditary component of intelligence by exploring elementary sensations.
- Hypothesis = High intelligence → Extreme visual acuity.
- This is not supported
76
Q
Alfred Binet (1857 – 1911)
A
- Binet and Simon Scale (1905):
- First test of general mental ability.
- Focus on abstract reasoning skills.
- Good prediction of ability in school.
- Score expressed as mental age.
- Mental Age = mental ability of child compared with what is average for his/her chronological age.
- MA = CA signified regular intelligence
77
Q
Lewis Terman (1877 – 1956)
A
- Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (1916):
- Revision of Binet and Simon Scale
- New scoring scheme, based on intelligence quotient (IQ).
- IQ = Child’s mental age divided by his/her Chronological age multiplied by 100.
- Remains one of the most popular IQ tests in contemporary usage
IQ = (MA/CA) X 100
78
Q
David Wechsler (1896 – 1981)
A
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (1955):
- First intelligence scale for adults
- TWO major innovations:
- Distinguished verbal v. non verbal ability.
- Discarded IQ in favour of new scoring scheme, the normal distribution.
79
Q
The WAIS -IV
A
- Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)
- Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI)
- Working Memory Index (WMI)
- Processing Speed Index (PSI)
Together these give Full Scale IQ Score
80
Q
Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)
A
-
Core Subtests:
- Similarities
- Vocabulary
- Information
-
Supplementary Subtest:
- Comprehension
81
Q
Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI)
A
82
Q
-
Core Subtests:
- Block Design
- Matrix Reasoning
- Visual Puzzles
-
Supplementary Subtests:
- Figure Weights (16-69yrs)
- Picture Completion
A
83
Q
Working Memory Index (WMI)
A
-
Core Subtests:
- Digit Span
- Arithmetic
-
Supplementary Subtest:
- Letter-Number Sequencing (16-69yrs)
84
Q
- Processing Speed Index (PSI)
A
-
Core Subtests:
- Symbol Search
- Coding
-
Supplementary Subtest:
- Cancellation (16-69yrs)
85
Q
The Weschler Scoring System
A
- Raw scores translated into deviation IQ Scores
- Locates participants withing normal distribution
- Uses standard deviation as measurement
- Deviation IQ scores converted to percentiles
- Normal Distribution curve according to which many characteristics are dispersed in population
- Characteristics
- Symmetric
- Bell Shaped
- Unimodel
86
Q
Theories of Multiple Intelligences
A
- Use of single score to describe performance on intelligence tests implies that intelligence is a single ability.
- Contemporary psychologists have challenged this perspective
87
Q
Multiple Intelligence Theorists
A
- Charles Spearman:
- Two factor theory
- Robert Sternberg:
- Triarchic theory of intelligence.
- Howard Gardner:
- Multiple intelligences.
88
Q
Two Factor Theory of Intelligence
A
- Spearman (1945):
- Developed statistical procedure of factor analysis
- Determine correlations among variables that identify closely related clusters of variables.
- Factor analysis identified correlations of many specific mental abilities
89
Q
Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
A
- Sternberg (1986):
- THREE types of intelligence:
- Analytic: Analyse, judge, evaluate, compare, contrast.
- Creative: Create, design, invent, originate, imagine.
- Practical: Use, apply, implement, put ideas into practice.
90
Q
Triarchic Theory in Schools
A
Analytic:
- Do well in conventional classrooms.
- High grades.
Creative:
- Do less well in traditional classrooms.
- Desire to increase knowledge decreases creativity.
Practical:
- Do not relate well to demands of school.
- Excel outside of school because high social skills & common sense.
91
Q
Multiple Intelligences - Gardner 1983
A
- -All individuals have multiple intelligences.
- -Traditional IQ tests measure only verbal, math and spatial aspects of intelligence
- They overlook other types of intelligence
92
Q
Eight Types of Intelligence
A
- Verbal
- Mathematical
- Spatial
- Bodily-kinesthetic
- Musical
- Interpersonal
- Intrapersonal
- Naturalist
93
Q
Issues for Intelligence Testing
A
- THREE issues have been identified as significant in the process of intelligence testing:
- Potential v. knowledge.
- Reliability and validity.
- Cultural bias
